The role of local philanthropy in East Sussex Kevin Richmond – Chief Executive Sussex Community Foundation

What is Sussex Community Foundation? An independent Charity for Sussex A local grant maker A service for donors A long-term resource

What have we achieved since 2006? Awarded £6,788,677 in grants Supported over 1,500 charities and community groups 62 Named Funds £6 million endowment fund

Grants in East Sussex District Number of Applications Number of GrantsTotal awarded Eastbourne £234,315 Hastings £351,101 Lewes £414,356 Rother £415,766 Wealden £368,464 Grand Total 1,453817£1,784, different groups have applied 520 have received at least one grant “Valuing the Voluntary sector” estimated 2,048 groups in East Sussex

Sussex Uncovered Needs and Strengths of local communities Indices of Multiple Deprivation Supplementary data and advice Case Studies and examples

Findings Inner-city levels of deprivation –Hastings, Bexhill, Eastbourne Pockets of rural deprivation –Hailsham, Rye, Eastern Rother Disadvantaged people do not only live in deprived areas “Double disadvantage in rural areas”

Conclusions Severe deprivation in some areas Double disadvantage in rural areas Mean annual wage lowest in SE Child Poverty High proportion of older people Poor health and disparity in life expectancy Homelessness Access to housing and services

What can we do? Network of local community groups addresses isolation and prevents long term problems Best solutions come from within the community Support long term solutions by helping a community to help itself

60,130 volunteers are involved in voluntary and community organisations across the county, (12% of the total population). They give 133,889 hours of their time worth £1,599, every week in East Sussex over 1,300 separate organisations The voluntary and community sector in East Sussex has an estimated income of £476 million. The voluntary and community sector is a major employer within East Sussex, employing more than 10,000 individuals across the county.

The average VCO is in fact deemed a micro-enterprise with less than 10 employees...much like our business community A tough operating environment particularly for medium sized organisations Limited internal infrastructure on key issues like HR, Legal and governance advice Source: Valuing the Voluntary Sector an Economic Impact Assessment 3VA,HVA,RVA